No AoO?

[The_Ditto]

I think the AoOs make D&D combat more tactical .. without it, yes, it's much simpler, and also less tactical.

Personally .. I like the more complex tactics ... and I don't find AoOs themselves really slow things down ... maybe a bit of a learning curve there, but not much ... it's not rocket science ..

Grappling and some other options are much more problematic as far as cost-time goes than AoOs ... IMHO ...

 

[TerraDave]

Sneak attacks through flanking are easier. And a lot of the other things mentioned above are basically there to facilitate sneak attacks through flanking. (Ok, I guess you might have a monk pc who can go after spellcasters...)

Maybe just replace them with a new feat: Flanking Sneak Attack.

 

[mmadsen]

Skills and feats that only exist to deal with situations that only exist in a game, and not in reality, aren't likely to be missed.

Well said.

I'll point out that everyone who played D&D prior to 3E was doing that. I do think that combat ran faster, and was less confusing to new players. Things that now cause AOO were basically prohibited (i.e., must stop when you contact a foe, cannot fire a bow in melee, etc.)

I'm surprised that the stock reaction to "Let's remove Attacks of Opportunity" is "Then everyone can run right past each other," rather than, "Oh, just like it used to be."

 

[Delta]

I'm surprised that the stock reaction to "Let's remove Attacks of Opportunity" is "Then everyone can run right past each other," rather than, "Oh, just like it used to be."

Very much agreed.

 

[fiddlerjones]

I think AoOs are integral to D&D 3.5. There is simply too much built into the system around them. If you remove them, you cause serious game balance issues (i.e. crippling tumble, combat reflexes, reach, making casters even stronger).
That said, I've come to love True20, which has no AoOs. The reason this works, however, is that the system was constructed with this in mind from the ground up.

 

[mmadsen]

I have not played the game with no Attacks of Opportunity, but I have played with simplified Attacks of Opportunity. Once you remove the complications -- like immunity from Attacks of Opportunity for 5' steps or retreats -- it plays much like older editions.

Let me reiterate that you can keep Attacks of Opportunity -- and all attendant feats and skills -- but play a much, much simpler game by simply removing a couple exceptions from the rules.

If you remove the odd immunity from Attacks of Opportunity for 5' steps and retreats, the game plays much like it always did. Missile weapons are useful until the enemy engages, infantry can "lock down" enemy forces, etc.

 

[CrimsonWineGlass]

My group really doesn't bother with AoO's unless somebody has a build that uses them or if somebody does something that would obviously leave them open (turn tail and run in the middle of battle) It works fine. We also adopt the nat. 1 is a failure, nat. 20 is success in all circumstance. We do a lot of things that weed out "realism" rules in favor of simple fun. And none of us like looking up the nuances of various rules in the middle of a wonderfully creative idea only to have it crash because random rule #814 got in the way.

 

[Mark CMG]

I have always felt that AoOs as they now exist could be replaced by a similar mechanic whereby it counts as a standard action taken at any time during a round when the conditions are met. I don't believe the additional attack(s) it gives is as elegant a mechanic as a choice between possible attacks would be.

 

[Delta]

If you remove the odd immunity from Attacks of Opportunity for 5' steps and retreats, the game plays much like it always did. Missile weapons are useful until the enemy engages, infantry can "lock down" enemy forces, etc.

That's actually a very interesting idea that I hadn't previously considered.

 

[mmadsen]

I have always felt that AoOs as they now exist could be replaced by a similar mechanic whereby it counts as a standard action taken at any time during a round when the conditions are met. I don't believe the additional attack(s) it gives is as elegant a mechanic as a choice between possible attacks would be.

I have recommended replacing Attacks of Opportunity with Opportunities to Attack -- the attacks isn't free, but you have the option to make it before your turn rolls around, and if you succeed, you stop your target from doing whatever it was he was trying to do: move through your zone of control, drink a potion, shoot a bow, etc.